


The Magic Purrpetrator

by ShionsTear



Series: The A3! AU that started with a random prompt generator. [3]
Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Animal Transformation, Fantasy, Gen, Humor, M/M, Magic, Pyro Technician!Misumi, Slice of Life, Urban Fantasy, Wizard!Chikage, Wizard!Guy, Wizard!Hajime, Wizard!Hisoka, Wizard!Homare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26484817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShionsTear/pseuds/ShionsTear
Summary: "Hisoka-kun, you just HAD to go and touch that magical item and get yourself transformed into a cat, now did you?""...""Chikage-kun, what are you doing with your phone?""Just taking some pics, this is hilarious."
Relationships: Arisugawa Homare/Mikage Hisoka, Guy/Utsuki Chikage, Ikaruga Misumi/Miyoshi Kazunari, Takatoo Tasuku/Yukishiro Azuma
Series: The A3! AU that started with a random prompt generator. [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1595281
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	The Magic Purrpetrator

**Author's Note:**

> This fic contains minor character spoilers from A3! Act 5's Main Story.

“…zzz…”

“I can’t believe he’s already sleeping.” Chikage sighed and crossed his arms.

“Already? I think the correct word would be still, Chikage.” Hajime chuckled.

“Don’t call me that while we’re at the organization. How often do I need to tell you, August?”

“You’re right, I’m sorry, April.”

“Oi, December!” he kicked the bench on which Hisoka was sleeping. “Get up already.”

“…hm?” he slowly opened his eyes. “Is it time for marshmallows?”

“No. You’re to accompany August on his delivery.”

“Delivery?”

“Yes.” Hajime nodded. “Homare ordered some magic ingredients for his store.”

“That eccentric toy shop owner?” Hisoka asked, finally sitting up.

“Exactly.” he nodded again and smiled. “And it was decided that it’s a good time for your first delivery to progress in your apprenticeship.”

“I see.” he stood up. “Okay.”

“Wonderful!” he turned to Chikage. “Are the items loaded already?”

“Yeah.” he nodded in response.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t cause any problems for August, December.” he glared at the still half-asleep seeming man.

“…”

“Are you listening to me?”

“…no.” Hisoka shook his head.

“You little---” he raised his arm but was stopped by Hajime.

“There there, no fighting you two.”

“Hah…”

“Let’s go, December.” he grabbed him by the sleeve of their black coats and dragged him along. “See you later, April.”

“Sure.” he crossed his arms as the other two disappeared behind a corner. “I hope he doesn’t screw up anything…”

The two reached the warehouse of the organization and approached one of the dozens of trucks. They got inside, Hajime on the driver’s seat, Hisoka next to him. They fastened their seatbelts and Hajime adjusted all the mirrors with a finger clicking.

“Ready?” he turned to Hisoka, who nodded in response. “Then let’s go.” he started the engine, changed gears and floored the accelerator.

“August?”

“Yes?”

“We’re wizards, why do we need a truck when we…” he started his question and was interrupted by the truck teleporting right into the back alley of a city. Hajime stopped the truck and waited for Hisoka to finish his sentence. “…well, this.”

“Funny that you ask, Chikage asked the same on his first delivery. And I’ll tell you the same I told him: it’s part of our wizard’s codex.”

“There’s a rule for this?”

“Yes.”

“…that sounds like a useless rule.” Hisoka mumbled and made Hajime laugh. “What?”

“Chikage said the same.”

“…”

“Either way, let’s get off. It’s that building over there. Pandora’s Toy Box.”

“What a horrible name.” Hisoka said and the two got off the truck again. They grabbed the boxes of magic items and walked towards the backdoor. Because both of their arms were busy carrying boxes, Hajime opened the door with his wind magic.

“Homare?! We’re here.” he shouted into the room. Hisoka followed after him and once he was inside, the door closed on its own. Without saying anything, he started inspecting the room. His first thoughts were that it was a very chaotic room. Various small things were thrown all over the place, nothing was where it was supposed to be. All he knew about the owner, Homare, was that he was very eccentric.

“Welcome!” a door on the other side of the room was swung open and startled Hisoka. “Welcome to my humble abode!”

“Good morning, Homare.” Hajime said.

“Ah, welcome, Hajime-kun. I assume you have brought what I asked of you, yes?”

“That’s why we’re here.”

“We?” Homare raised his voice in confusion. It was only then that he noticed the white-haired man standing next to Hajime. “Ah, welcome! You must be Hisoka-kun!”

“…why do you know my name?”

“Hajime-kun and Chikage-kun always talk about you. I believed it was only a matter of time until I would meet you.”

“…” he only narrowed his eyes as Homare stepped closer. What an outrageous outfit, Hisoka thought. It was a mix of bright orange, brown and purple colours. He couldn’t decide what was worse; the coat with the grandma-curtain print or the stupidly large top hat.

“Welcome to Pandora’s Toy Box! My name is Arisugawa Homare, owner and wizard par excellence.” he took off the top hat and bowed down, but instead of greeting him back, Hisoka just stepped back reflexively. “My, quite a shy fellow, isn’t he?” he started laughing.

“He’ll get used to it.” Hajime laughed as well.

 _Don’t wanna_ , Hisoka thought to himself.

“Where do you need these boxes to go?” he asked.

“Right, the boxes!” Homare put his hat back on his head and cleared his throat. “That one will go upstairs. Hisoka-kun, you can leave yours somewhere on the floor.”

“…” Hisoka lowered his head and looked around, only to look back at Homare shortly after. “Can’t see the floor through all the stuff scattered around.”

“H-Hisoka!”

“My.” Homare chuckled. “Not as shy as I assumed. You may leave it wherever you see fit.”

“…okay.” Hisoka nodded and put it down.

“Now then, Hajime-kun. Please follow me upstairs.”

“Alright.”

“And Hisoka-kun, please wait here.” he instructed. “But please do make sure to not break anything, you hear me?”

“Mhm.”

“Very well.” he nodded and walked up the stairs, closely followed by Hajime.

Hisoka sighed deeply. _What a weird guy_ , he thought. He put his hands into the pockets of his coat and let his gaze wander around the room once again. While thinking about how he wanted to eat some marshmallows, his gaze fell on something that was sitting on a shelf. The light that shone through the window fell on it and was reflected back in blue.

“…he didn’t say anything about touching.” Hisoka whispered and stepped closer. After stopping in front of the shelf he recognized what was catching his attention. It was a small figure of a sitting cat, seemingly made out of a blue gem. The cat depicted didn’t represent a real one, its limbs were somewhat elongated. But for some reason, Hisoka couldn’t look away from it.

The cat figure had two black eyes, probably made from a different gem. He wondered why such an expensive looking item was among the eccentric wizard’s other random belongings. It was almost as if it didn’t fit, it looked out of place.

“What are you doing here, kitty cat?” he asked the cat and slowly raised an arm. He moved it closer to the cat and touched its head with his index finger when…

Poof.

 _What happened_ , Hisoka asked himself when he opened his eyes again. _Where am I?_

He looked around and recognized his surroundings. He was still in that room at Homare’s toy shop, but something was different. To Hisoka, everything looked so tall suddenly. Or rather, he was looking at it from… below?

“Hisoka-kun!” Homare’s voice resounded and Hisoka turned around. Homare and Hajime had rushed back down and were standing in front of the stairs. They too seemed to have become taller since he last saw them.

“Oh no…” Hajime said.

“Hisoka-kun…” Homare sighed and approached him. He crouched down and picked him up. “You just _had_ to touch the figure and get yourself transformed into a cat, now did you?”

 _Oh_ , Hisoka thought to himself.

“Homare!” Hajime stepped closer. The toy show owner was holding a snowy white cat in his arms. “What happened?” he asked worriedly.

“Well, you see.” he started explaining. “I’ve been holding onto a cat figure for a customer. It’s made out of blue zircon and it has the power to, well, transform anyone that touches it into a cat.”

“Where’s the figure now?”

“I believe it fused with Hisoka-kun…”

“What!?”

“I’m not too sure myself either, but I think that is what the customer said.” Homare nodded.

“Can he… can _we_ still communicate with him?” Hajime asked.

“He should be able to understand us still, yes.”

 _Yeah I can_ , Hisoka said, but to the two it just sounded like a cat’s meowing.

“But I don’t assume you have mastered the lingua felis?”

“…n-no.” Hajime sighed. “So what do we do now?”

“Hmm, let me think.” he closed his eyes. Hisoka was getting bored on Homare’s arms and decided to jump down back on the floor and experience his new cat life. It seemed like he didn’t have any problems moving around. It was as if he had always been a cat.

“You know, I always thought Hisoka reminded me of a cat.” Hajime said and chuckled. He crouched down and caressed Hisoka’s back. As he purred in response and enjoyed the patting, Homare seemed to have gotten an idea.

“Alright.” he started. “Hajime-kun, I want you to hurry back to the organization and see if you can find out anything about the cat figure.”

“What about you?”

“I will take Hisoka-kun and see if I can ask an acquaintance of mine for advice.”

“Another wizard that isn’t with the organization?”

“Indeed.”

“Okay.” Hajime nodded and turned to the cat. “Okay Hisoka. Please behave and listen to what Homare tells you. We’re going to try and turn you back as quickly as we can, okay?”

 _I don’t like the idea of trusting that weirdo but okay,_ he meowed.

“Oho, it seems he understands!” Homare seemed happy. “Splendid!”

“Okay. Then I’ll go now.” he said and left through the same door he entered earlier.

“Very well, Hisoka-kun.”

 _What_ , Hisoka asked.

“I shall write a message to my employee to let him know I’m not here and then we’ll be on our way too.”

 _Whatever_.

“I see you’re excited, wonderful!” he grabbed a piece of paper and made a fountain pen appear with a click of his fingers. As he started writing, Hisoka jumped up onto the table and read the letter.

_Dear Taichi-kun_

_I came in earlier to open the shop but something of utmost importance occurred. I had no choice than to leave immediately. I left you this note and ask you to look after the shop for the day. If there are no customers in the afternoon you may close up earlier, I do not mind. I wish you a nice day._

_Toodles, H._

“Now then, let us depart.” Homare mad the pen disappear again, grabbed both the note and Hisoka and walked through the door that led to the actual shop part of his store. Hisoka didn’t have much time to observe his surroundings. As soon as Homare had attached the note to the register, he took his walking cane.

If he had been able to, Hisoka would’ve recoiled in disgust at Homare’s cane. The cane itself was of the same colours as his outfit, but chequered. But as if that wasn’t enough, a small line of gold was circling up the cane and disappeared under the top of the cane; which was the head of a cockatoo. A bright, white cockatoo, its head feathers tinted yellow and what seemed like two black gems as its eyes.

 _Who allowed this_ , Hisoka asked himself and received Homare’s attention, who, of course, still didn’t understand anything the cat was saying.

“How is your current life as a feline fellow, Hisoka-kun? Is it very different than being a human? You just _have_ to tell me about your experience once you’ve transformed back.”

 _No promises_.

“Glad you agree.” Homare smiled confidently.

 _Where are we going_ , Hisoka meowed.

“What is it, Hisoka-kun?” he looked down to the cat in his arms. “Are you perhaps hungry?”

_No._

“Hmm, that is quite the predicament. I do not have the knowledge of what suits the palate of a cat. What should I do…”

_I’m not hungry._

“Yes, yes. I’m thinking of a solution as we walk.” he said and stopped walking to think. “Is there anyone I could ask more about this?”

_You stopped walking._

“Oh! I know!” he nodded. “Let us make haste!” he nodded again and started walking, upping his pace from before.

And while Hisoka still didn’t know where they were going, he didn’t dislike the fact that he didn’t have to walk on his own. In fact, it probably would’ve been even more exhausting to walk around as a cat than walking around as a human. A cat was a lot smaller than a person and therefore everything seemed bigger and farther away.

Maybe life as a cat would be more delightful than he initially thought. He could laze around all day. He wouldn’t need to continue his apprenticeship at the organization, probably. He had no knowledge of any wizard cats at least, so there couldn’t be many of them, if any. But Chikage would probably make fun of him for having become a cat, he really didn’t want to go through that. Even less if there was no way to talk back to him.

“We have arrived, Hisoka-kun!”

 _Hm_ , Hisoka had been lost in thoughts and forgot that he was being carried around by the eccentric wizard. When he looked up, he noticed that they were in front of a building, a restaurant, it seemed.

Big, red letters above the entrance read ‘Thyme Traveller’.

“Let’s go inside.” Homare announced and stepped forward. The door opened automatically and let him inside. He was greeted by an employee with a smile.

“Welcome to Thyme Traveller, sir. Did you have a reserve---e-eh…?” she swallowed her words after she saw Homare’s getup. The white cat he was holding as he entered a restaurant wasn’t helping either. “U-uhm, sir…?”

“Yes?” Homare smiled.

“We don’t… accept pets in this establishment.”

“Ahaha, worry not.” he laughed. “This is no pet of mine, this is just a---” he gasped as he realized what he was saying.

 _Dumbass_ , Hisoka said.

“Sir? I will have to ask you to leave and---”

“Arisugawa?” a voice from further in resounded.

“Manager?!” the employee turned around. “You know this…” she stopped. “…this individual?”

“Ah, Guy-kun!” Homare beamed.

“I do, he’s a good friend of mine.” Guy nodded.

“…” she didn’t know what to answer.

“Guy-kun, I need to talk to you.”

“I’m sorry, I’m busy right now. Enter through the back and head upstairs to my apartment. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” he explained and continued working.

“Wonderful, thank you.” Homare took off his hat. “Milady.” he said as he bowed down slightly, put his hat back on and turned around to go to the backside of the restaurant.

“Wh… what…” the employee was confused but returned to work as well.

“You see, Guy-kun may own a restaurant that specializes in various curry dishes, but he is in fact a wizard too. Though not part of the organization either, just like myself.” Homare explained while walking around the building.

 _A curry restaurant, why does it sound familiar,_ Hisoka wondered.

“I know right, it’s fascinating.” he started laughing and entered through the backdoor.

🧶🧶🧶

“Sorry it took that long.” Guy said as he entered his apartment. Homare was sitting on an armchair, reading in a book, while Hisoka was observing a potted plant. Its leaves were swaying in the wind that came through the open window.

“Ah, welcome, Guy-kun.” Homare let the book disappear by gently throwing it skywards.

“So, why did you think of visiting my restaurant with a cat?” he sat down on the other armchair. “I didn’t know you owned one.” he plucked a stem from the plant, made it grow somewhat in his hands and held it down so he could move it back and forth in front of the cat. Hisoka’s gaze immediately switched to that and he tried to catch it.

“That is precisely why I came.” Homare explained. “That is not a cat. It’s a fellow wizard that has been transformed into a cat.”

“I fear that I am not as surprised as I probably should be. But since it’s you we’re talking about…”

“Excuse you.”

“Pardon me.” Guy chuckled. He put the impromptu cat toy to the side and picked up Hisoka. He put him on his lap and patted his head. “But I see.”

“His name is Hisoka-kun.”

“Hisoka?” Guy looked at Homare. “As in, Mikage Hisoka?”

“Indeed.”

“So this is Mikage.”

 _So what_ , Hisoka asked.

“I didn’t expect that the first time I’d meet you would be in cat form.”

_Huh?_

“Oh right, how silly of me, I almost forgot.” Homare chuckled. “Your dear husband must’ve told you about him, I take it?”

_Husband? Who? Is it someone I… wait…_

“Yes.” Guy nodded.

_A curry restaurant owning wizard…_

“Chikage has told me a lot about him.”

“I’d assume Chikage-kun has told Hisoka-kun about you before too.”

“Who knows, he’s not one to talk much about himself.”

“That is true.” he said and the two started laughing. “In any case. I came here today to ask for help. You don’t happen to know a way to turn him back into a human, do you?”

“First I’d need to know what turned him into a cat.” he picked up Hisoka again, stood up and put him down on the armchair. Then he stepped closer to a bookshelf and waited for Homare to explain the situation. He did, Guy searched for a book and after finding it, he took it and started browsing it. “Hmm…”

“Have you heard of this before?”

“I in fact have. I remember reading about a cat shaped figure that was able to do that, but I don’t recall if it also stated ways to undo the spell.”

“I see…” Homare closed his eyes and started thinking again.

“I can’t seem to find anything in here.” Guy sighed and put the book back. “I’m sorry I can’t be of much help, Arisugawa.”

“Do not fret, Guy-kun.” Homare stood up and approached him. “The fact that you have heard about this spell already reassures me. It shows it’s not an all too obscure incident.”

“As positive as always it seems.” Guy chuckled. “I’ll ask Chikage too when he’s home.”

_No!_

“Thank you very much. Although I assume Hajime-kun will already have asked him at the organization, but in case he didn’t I’m counting on you.” he nodded.

“Alright.”

“Now then Hisoka-kun!” he turned to the cat. “Let us depart.”

 _Where to now_ , Hisoka jumped down onto the floor.

“Where to?” Guy asked.

_Thank you._

“That is a wonderful question!”

“So you don’t know yet.”

“Details!” Homare started laughing. “Until another time, Guy-kun.”

“Take care, Arisugawa.” he looked down at Hisoka. “You too, Mikage.” he said and Hisoka meowed. He had only just met Guy but he already liked him. He wondered how someone like him could end up with someone like Chikage, but he decided not to ask. Also they wouldn’t be able to understand him in the first place.

🧶🧶🧶

“Hmm…” Homare was thinking out aloud as he and Hisoka were walking along. “Where should we head to next? Who else might know something about this particular spell I wonder…?”

 _You could’ve thought of more than just one person before leaving your shop,_ Hisoka complained.

“I appreciate you trying to help me, but sadly I still do not understand you.”

Hisoka sighed. But then he suddenly saw a familiar face in the distance and started running towards him.

“Hisoka-kun?” Homare wondered why he’d start dashing out of nowhere and followed him with his gaze. “Ah, Hajime-kun!” he exclaimed and stepped closer.

“I was looking for you two.” Hajime explained while patting the cat that had jumped at him. “Hehe, how’s your cat life so far?”

 _This guy is useless_ , Hisoka looked at Homare.

“I see you were having fun then.” Hajime smiled.

“Hajime-kun, have you found out anything about it? Do you know of a way to turn Hisoka back into a hu---”

“Nii-san?” a voice said from behind. Hajime turned around and startled.

“Azuma!?” he asked surprisedly. “And Tasuku too.”

“Hello.” Tasuku nodded.

“What are you doing here?”

“Fufu, I’m on a date with Tasuku.” Azuma smiled.

“No you’re not.” Tasuku sighed. “Miyoshi asked me to fetch something he forgot to buy and Azuma just dragged along.”

“Don’t mind him, he’s just shy.” Azuma chuckled.

“Hah…”

“I see.” Hajime chuckled as well. “Ah, sorry. Homare, this is my little brother, Azuma, and his partner Tasuku.”

“Ohh, I understand! Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Homare bowed down. “My name is Arisugawa Homare, owner of Pandora’s Toy Box.”

“That’s a toy shop.” Hajime explained.

“What an interesting name.” Azuma smiled. “But, nii-san, I didn’t know you owned a cat?” he slowly moved his hand to Hisoka’s head and patted it gently. “And such a cute one as well.”

“Oh, this isn’t a cat.”

“It’s not?”

“…wait!!” Hajime realized what he just said. “That’s not what I meant, haha.” he laughed. “This isn’t _my_ cat it’s… Homare’s.”

“Oh, I see.” Azuma turned to Homare. “What’s its name?”

“Hisok---”

“Hisocat!” Hajime interrupted him.

“Hisocat?” Azuma asked.

_Hisocat?_

“What a weird name.” Tasuku added.

_I agree._

“Didn’t you have a friend called Hisoka?”

“Homare named him that because the cat reminded him of Hisoka.” Hajime turned to Homare. “R-right?”

“Indeed.” Homare nodded. “Hisoka-kun is very much like a cat, that is why this white furred feline fellow was names Hisocat, as to not confuse the two.”

“Fufu, adorable.”

“It is?” Tasuku asked.

“Tasuku.” Azuma looked at his boyfriend.

“Sorry.”

“It’s cute when you talk to your pets.”

“Y-you saw that?” Hajime asked.

“I did.” Azuma smiled.

“I agree.” Homare nodded. “But it’s so hard to talk to him, we’re not really sure what he’s saying.”

“Yes. Haha, you don’t happen to know someone that can talk to cats, do you?” Hajime asked jokingly.

“Actually I do.” Tasuku answered.

“What?” all three turned to him in surprise. Even Hisoka, who had been trying to ignore the embarrassing conversation, was paying attention again.

“Yeah apparently Miyoshi’s partner, Ikaruga, can talk to animals.”

“How is that possible?” Homare asked.

“I don’t know, it’s not like I really believe him either but…”

“Do you know where I could find them?”

“As far as I know he works as a pyro technician, maybe he’s doing some fireworks for the upcoming festival or something?”

“The festival, I see…” Homare nodded. “Thank you very much, Tasuku-kun.”

“Sure.” he nodded. “Azuma, we really need to get going now.”

“Oh, yes, you’re right.”

“Sorry for keeping you busy.” Hajime apologised.

“Don’t worry, nii-san.” he patted Hisoka again. “I’m glad I got to meet Hisocat. I hope you get a chance to talk to him.” he chuckled again. “Alright, bye-bye, nii-san.”

“Bye Azuma.”

“It was nice meeting you, Homare-san.”

“Likewise.” Homare said. Tasuku just bowed down slightly before turning around and walking away with Azuma. Homare and Hajime stood there and waited until the other two disappeared behind a corner.

“Hajime-kun…”

“Yes?”

“Does your little brother know about the organization?”

“No, he doesn’t.”

“Hmm.”

“Actually, he might, I don’t know. He’s sharper than you’d think, so maybe he found out.”

“Doesn’t he know magic too, since he’s related to you?”

“Technically he could, yes. But I never noticed anything…”

“Hmm…”

“Oh right! There’s something I wanted to tell you before!” he suddenly remembered. “I found something.”

“Ohh?”

“It seems there’s a book that contains information on that cat figure.”

“Where is the book?”

“I asked Chikage to procure it.”

 _Nooo,_ Hisoka exclaimed.

“Why, is it not in the organization’s library?” Homare was confused.

“It is, but you need a special permission for it. And it seems you’re not allowed to take it outside. So I wanted to let you know as quickly as possible.”

“I see, thank you very much.” Homare nodded.

“I’ll go back to the organization and check if Chikage found out something.”

“Much appreciated, Hajime-kun. Now then, Hisoka-kun!”

_What now?_

“Indeed. Let’s look for the cat whisperer!”

🧶🧶🧶

_How exactly are we supposed to find that person? It’s not like you know how they look,_ Hisoka meowed as Homare carried him in his arms.

“I agree.” Homare nodded.

_Huh?_

“The weather is lovely today.” he smiled. “I wonder if we’ll be able to find that Ikaruga-kun somewhere. It would certainly be of great help if they could truly understand you, Hisoka-kun.”

“What about me~?” a voice resounded from above.

“…?!” Homare startled slightly and was visibly confused. “Who said that? Show yourself.”

 _Look up,_ Hisoka purred and pointed at a tree.

“Okaaay~” the voice said and someone jumped down from a branch, landing right in front of Homare and leaving him completely dumbfounded. “Ah! Another kitty!” he said when he saw Hisoka.

“Another?” Homare asked, but quickly noticed a black cat in the man’s arms.

“Yes~ He was stuck on the tree so I helped him out.” he put the cat down and waved. “Bye-bye kitty.”

“Hmm…” Homare observed the peculiar man. He was wearing an outfit quite reminiscent of summer festival goers, a fitting headband around his head as well. And most importantly, a tag reading ‘staff’ was attached to his happi. “Are you perhaps Ikaruga-kun?”

“How do you know my name?” he asked surprised. “Yeah, I’m Ikaruga Misumi. Written like sankaku, but you read it Misumi, hehe.”

“Tasuku-kun told us about you.”

“Tasuku?” Misumi tilted his head. “Ah! He works with Kazu~”

“Misumi-kun, are you free right now?”

“I have work later but right now I’m free.” he looked at Hisoka. “Hello kitty, what’s your name?”

 _Hisoka_ , he answered.

“Hello Hisoka~”

_Wait, you can actually understand what I say?_

“Of course!” he laughed.

“Are you talking to Hisoka-kun?”

“Yup!”

“My, that is wonderful!” Homare exclaimed. “Could you translate what he says?”

“Okay~”

_Why do you need a translation, we need to find a way to turn me back, right?_

“Turn you back?” Misumi asked.

_I was turned into a cat._

“Really?”

_Yes. This weirdo is a wizard._

“Ohhh~!”

_And I touched something that turned me into a cat. But he can’t understand what I say._

“I see.” Misumi nodded. Homare was just smiling, not knowing what they were talking about.

_That’s why I don’t understand what good it is asking you about it._

“Hmm…” he started thinking.

“What did Hisoka-kun say?”

“I see the problem now.” Misumi nodded. “Ohh, I know!” he jumped up and startled both Homare and Hisoka.

“Y-yes?”

“Let’s go ask other kitties!”

“Pardon?”

“Maybe they know something. Lets go~” he said, turned around and started dashing off.

“Mi-Misumi-kun!?” Homare was confused.

 _Wait,_ Hisoka meowed, jumped down and ran after Misumi.

“Hisoka-kun!?!” not knowing what to do, Homare started running after them too.

Misumi was running around without slowing down. Jumping over obstacles as if he were used to it. He left the park and climbed up a wall to continue running on top of it. Hisoka looked for a way to follow him and quickly found a way up as well.

“I am not running after them.” Homare sighed after he had almost caught up to them. He clicked his fingers and instantly disappeared, just to appear again floating high up in the sky where he could observe them. “He seems to be quite proficient in parkours.”

At the same time, Misumi was still jumping all around. Hisoka did his best to keep up with him in his newly acquired cat-form. He was rather agile on his human feet as well and would’ve been able to keep up even better with Misumi, but his small cat-form was too much of a disadvantage.

“Hehe, Hisoka, you’re fast~” Misumi smiled when he turned around for a moment.

_He’s good._

The chase continued for a while until Misumi finally stopped at a playground. He climbed up onto the monkey bars and looked around. At the same time, Hisoka arrived as well and laid down on the ground, somewhat exhausted. Moments later, Homare appeared out of nowhere and sat down on a swing. He crossed his legs and was about to lean back when he noticed there was nothing there to lean onto.

_Did you just try to lean back on a swing?_

“Ah, there they are!” Misumi yelled and jumped down. He hurried over to one of the bushes and found the cats he was looking for. “Hello~”

_Cats?_

“Hello kitties. Can I ask you something?” he asked and waited for a response. “Really? Thank you~”

“Hmm…” Homare observed the scene attentively.

“Hm, hm. I see. So it’s like that.” Misumi nodded. “Ohh!”

“Misumi-kun?”

“Alright, thank you!” he said his goodbye to the cats and turned around.

“Did they tell you something?”

“Yup~ They never heard of a human turning into a cat so they don’t know anything.”

“…”

 _I knew this wasn’t going to help me_ , Hisoka sighed.

“…thank you for your help, Misumi-kun.” Homare stood up. “We’ll have to see if we find more information.”

“Ehehe, you’re welcome~” Misumi smiled. “Bye-bye. Let’s race again when you’re back to being human, Hisoka~”

 _Alright,_ he nodded and Misumi walked away.

“Deary me.”

_So what now?_

“I suppose we should wait for Hajime-kun and Chikage-kun.” he approached a bench and sat down on it. Hisoka followed after him, jumped onto his lap and curled up to a ball.

_So you have no other plan, yes?_

“You’re right.”

_Huh?!_

“The weather is still quite pleasant.” Homare answered. Hisoka rolled his eyes and closed them. He was tired and thought of taking a nap, but before he could fall sleep Homare sighed deeply.

“Hah…” he looked down onto his lap. “My, already sleeping, are we?” he chuckled. Hisoka didn’t move, it’d be better if Homare thought he was sleeping.

“I must say, today has been quite entertaining, Hisoka-kun.” he started talking to himself. “You see, I usually don’t get to take a day off like today. As you may have expected, I am a very popular seller of wizardry tools and paraphernalia. Therefore, I am very busy. And I also have to take care of my toy shop.”

Hisoka pretended to sleep as he continued listening.

“Maybe you’re wondering why such a great wizard as myself is even managing a toy shop. I shall tell you the reason. Have you ever thought of how vast the world is? Now imagine to see that world through a child’s eyes. It’s even wider, bigger and full of unknown things. Perhaps you can think back to your own childhood. As to myself…” he stopped.

“Well, let’s just say I probably didn’t experience a childhood like the majority of children. I’ve spent most of my time inside our big mansion, being instructed in various fields of magic. My parents wanted me to excel in everything so that I would become a worthy heir. It was one day like any other when my dear grandmother gifted me a small and insignificant toy.

While I knew of every kind of magic that existed, I didn’t know the magic of imagination yet. That small toy I received opened a whole new world to my younger self. I was marvelled by how much fun it was to play around with it. And as I grew older, I always thought back to those times. Which cemented my resolution of opening a toy shop for children. So that they too could learn of this kind of magic. To learn that everyone can have a little bit of magic in their life.”

Hisoka looked up to Homare.

“Oh, my apologies.” he chuckled. “Did my short story bore you?”

_No, I…_

“Homare!”

“Hajime-kun?” Homare looked up and saw two people coming closer. “And Chikage-kun as well.”

_Oh no._

“Finally we found you.” Hajime replied, a bit out of breath. He and Chikage looked at Hisoka, who had stood up and jumped onto the free space next to Homare.

 _What do you want,_ he hissed at Chikage.

“Heh.” Chikage grinned, grabbed his phone from a pocked and pointed it at Hisoka.

“Chikage-kun, what are you doing?”

“Taking some pics.”

 _I’m gonna…_ Hisoka got ready to jump at him but was caught by Hajime mid-flight.

“We know how Hisoka can turn back now.” Hajime smiled.

“My, really?” Homare stood up. “Fantastic!”

“Yes, so let’s head back to your store.”

“Very well.” Homare nodded.

🧶🧶🧶

“So?” Homare asked. They were in the back room of Pandora’s Toy Box. Hisoka was sitting on a stool while the other three were standing around him. “What do we have to do?”

“Chikage, would you mind explaining it?” Hajime asked.

“No problem.” he cleared his throat. “As he has told you earlier, I was looking through the book that had information on that cat figure and it also contained specifications on how to break the spell.”

“Though I really wonder why it seems to be kept so secretly, if we consider the way of breaking it…” Hajime laughed.

“You’ve got me very curious; would you please tell me already?”

“Are you sure?” Chikage grinned. “Curiosity killed the cat after all.”

 _Not if I get to you first,_ Hisoka hissed again.

“Now there you two, calm down.” Hajime smiled. He glanced to the clock on the wall and nodded. “Yes, it should be any second now.”

“What do you mean any s---” but before he could finish his sentence…

Poof.

“Oh. I’m back.” Hisoka said, sitting on the stool as a human again.

“Oh.” Homare was surprised. “I understand.” a short pause. “Actually no, I am still confused.”

“Time.” Chikage said.

“Time?”

“Time was the solution. The spell becomes undone after a certain amount of time passes.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

“…so we could’ve just waited here all day instead of running around town?”

“It seems like it, yes.” Hajime added.

“…hah…” Hisoka sighed.

“My.” Homare started laughing. “What an exciting day it has been.” he let himself fall down on a couch. “I think the exhaustion is catching up to me now as well.”

“Oh. The figure.” Hisoka saw the cat figure in front of him and stretched out his arm.

“Hisoka-kun don’t!” Homare exclaimed.

“Ah. Right.” he stood up from the stool.

“Hajime-kun, would you mind going upstairs and take down a small box to put the figure in. I need to make sure no one else touches it involuntarily.”

“Sure.” he nodded and went upstairs. Hisoka looked around for a more comfortable place to sit. He decided to sit down next to Homare and stepped closer. The moment he sat on the couch he fell asleep and his body rocked to the side. His head landed on Homare’s lap.

“…!?” Homare was taken aback by it, but he stayed still. “My…”

“How is the first thing he does after all’s over falling asleep again? I can’t believe this guy.” Chikage sighed.

“Well.” Homare chuckled. “It was an exciting day, after all. He’s probably tired too.”

“Well.” he grabbed his phone again and took more pictures. “At least I can use these later.”

“I found a small box.” Hajime said as he came back. “Why is Hisoka sleeping on your lap, Homare?”

“Who knows?” he patted Hisoka’s head. “Perhaps he got used to it?”

🧶🧶🧶

It had been some weeks since the cat transformation incident with Hisoka. He was reminded of it when he came across a cat while on his way to deliver something to Homare. Hisoka had completed his apprenticeship at the organization and taken over Hajime’s spot as the deliveryman.

Because he liked taking it slowly, he often tended to just walk there. He arrived at the front entrance and walked in.

“Welco---ah, Hisoka-san, hello!”

“Hello Taichi.” Hisoka replied. He had met Taichi not long after the cat incident and they started talking whenever Hisoka went to the store.

“Owner’s in the back as always.”

“Thanks.” he nodded and went to the backroom. “Delivery.”

“Good day, Hisoka-kun.” Homare greeted him. “Thank you for the delivery as always, but how often do I need to tell you to use the backdoor?”

“Does it matter?”

“Well, no, not necessarily but---”

“Where should I put it?”

“Ah, yes. You may leave it somewhere on the floor.”

“Okay.” he nodded and put it down right were he was standing, in the middle of the room.

“…well that’s my fault, really.” Homare sighed and chuckled. He had gotten used to Hisoka’s character and enjoyed spending time with him. Sometimes Hisoka even dragged Homare away from work to take a break. They’d take a walk through some parks, even encountering Misumi from time to time.

“Marshmallow?” Hisoka asked.

“On my desk. I acquired a new brand.”

“Hmm…” he approached the desk and found the bag of marshmallows on it. He took one out of the bag and chomped on it. “Acceptable.”

“Thank you.” Homare smiled proudly.

“Busy?”

“Hmm, yes, I fear so. There’s a customer coming in later, they wanted to talk about a new tool they’ve been working on.”

“I see.” Hisoka said and grabbed another marshmallow. He stepped around the room while eating his treat. The room looked as messy as always. _Some things just never change_ , he thought to himself. He suddenly stopped in his tracks when he saw something that caught his interest on one of the shelves. It was a purple cat figure. “Oh.”

He got closer to the shelf and stretched out his hand when…

“No, Hisoka-kun, wait!!” Homare yelled all of a sudden and ran towards Hisoka. He forgot about the box Hisoka had left on the floor, tripped over it and bumped into Hisoka, which resulted in the two of them falling down. The impact made the shelves sway a little and the cat figure flew down, landing on Homare’s head and…

Poof.

“Oh.” Hisoka exclaimed, a cat sitting on his chest.

 _Hisoka-kun…_ , the cat meowed.

“…pff.” he snorted and started laughing wholeheartedly. “Homare?”

_Yes?_

“I think you’ll have to take a break now.” Hisoka smiled as he petted Homare’s head. “Nya~”

🧶


End file.
